Talk about the Golden State Warriors and not pronounce the names of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green o Jimmy Butler, It is, at first, strange. The most successful franchise in the NBA In the last decade he has played a basketball that has served to hook a whole new generation of basketball into the league that has delighted in the antics of the best shooter of all time, and that with Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant Years ago, they seemed like a practically invincible team.
It is inevitable to think that Steph's end is closer every day. That late explosion of the number 7 in the 2009 draft (the Timberwolves selected Ricky Rubio y Jonny Flynn before him) means that next March, the one from Akron will fulfill 38 years old. I hope he meets his 'neighbor' LeBron James (41 years old at the end of the month) to see who lasts the longest in the league.
The truth is that Curry has been in dry dock since last November 30, when he had to be absent from the game against the Pelicans due to a couple of blows he sustained on his left quadriceps. It is not a serious injury and the Warriors estimated his loss in more or less a week. But in the absence of '30', Golden State's outside line has had to take several steps forward, and Pat Spencer He has been one of those who has best taken advantage of the opportunity.
Pat Spencer is one of the great stories of recent years in the NBA / AP
NBA scoring record against the Cavs
With the '61' on his back, and with a muscular body, but with little appearance of a basketball player, this 29-year-old 'veteran' He signed his historic scoring record (19 points) in his team's victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers by 94-99. A high figure, which is not out of the ordinary, but whose merit lies in one of those stories of overcoming and difficulties until reaching the NBA, in this case with another sport involved.
An gifted student playing lacrosse
And Spencer, who completed his university academic training at Loyola, He was an excellent lacrosse player. a somewhat unknown sport in Spain in which two teams of ten players each compete with a stick that has a net on the top, and whose objective is to pass and receive a ball to end up introducing it into the rival team's goal. His career in this sport is full of successes and brands, and his is the record for assists in Division I of the NCAA and also the record for scoring in the Patriot League, beyond a host of individual distinctions. But after graduating and being selected first overall in the 2019 Premier Lacrosse League draft by the Archers, Spencer decided to bet on his other great sporting passion, basketball. An additional year at Northwestern University in which he averaged 10.4 points per game, and an adventure through Europe, after the cancellation of the university league due to Covid, in which he played in the Hamburg Towers German: five games with 9.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
Pat Spencer was a brilliant lacrosse player at Loyola University / Loyola
Slow Cooked Trajectory
Surely there were many voices that recommended Spencer to bet on Lacrosse. He had shone at the university stage and his future in the elite looked promising. But his heart and that internal flame only made him think of the orange ball. In 21/22 he signed with the Capital City Go-Go, the Washington Wizards team in the NBA development league. After finishing his time there, he moved to Holy Cross, California, to continue his career with the Warriors. His main activity was in the G-League, combining some daily contracts to play with the 'first team'. Between the 23/24 and 24/25 seasons, 45 games with somewhat discreet numbers (2.3 goals, 1.2 assists and 1.1 rebounds per game). Until now.
Pat Spencer, Golden State Warriors player /Jeff Chiu
“Yes, I'm that son of a bitch.”
Spencer has exploded successfully on the court, also showing a character and temperament that has received the approval of teammates like Draymond Green, one of the toughest players in the league. “Yes, I'm that son of a bitch,” he even pronounced the '61' of the Warriors after scoring the 19 points to the Cavs. He said goodbye to the rival fans by sending greetings to the stands, and that temperament has caused him to collide on the track with a rival, such as Alperen Sengun. In the last four NBA games, Spencer averages 16 points, 5.7 assists and 4 rebounds per game. He has shined by punishing the rival defense in the pick and roll, whether by finding the follow-up or getting up to the basket. A speed towards the basket that comes innate to him, remembering those Lacrosse games in which he was unstoppable.
Praise from his coach, Steve Kerr
“His coach realized that Pat is that son of a bitch. I think it became clear,” joked Steve Kerr, his coach, after the game against the Cavaliers. “We have seen his competitiveness, how good a player he is in these last two years. But his suspension has improved a lot and that is the important thing. “He'll never be like Steph, but he's a threat and that's what it takes,” Kerr commented. His current contract remains ‘Two-Way’, being able to alternate his participation in both the G-League and the NBA. But at 29 years old, and after a lot of struggle, trust, and work, the “son of a bitch” Spencer seems to have found his place in the league, in which he competes against his brother Cameron (Memphis Grizzlies).
